At this trippy art gallery, you enter from the lobby through a giant ear

We were about 160 miles from the end of a seven day road trip in December when I used the word mixtape to tempt my husband to make one last stop.

We both grew up in the 1980s, so the word mixtape instantly sends a playlist of songs, people and feelings through our minds. I’m not ashamed to admit there’s a box of those homemade compilations of music recorded on cassette tapes in our basement along with a dual deck boombox.

Joy, angst, love, melancholy, hope and wonder – these are the six feelings the creators of Factory Obscura’s “Mix-Tape” hope to evoke for visitors who walk, crawl, climb and slide through their 6,000-square-foot immersive art space in Oklahoma City’s Automobile Alley neighborhood.

Since the experience opened in September 2019, nearly 17,000 have visited, said Kelsey Karper, Factory Obscura co-founder and director of logistical creativity.

About 30 artists make up the collective known as Factory Obscura. The group has carpenters, dancers, designers, filmmakers, musicians, poets, sculptors, textile artists, visual artists, welders plus a team of electronic, light, projection and sound artists. For advice and inspiration, Karper said they tapped into City Museum in St. Louis, considered the granddaddy of interactive museums, and Meow Wolf, which has helped build the immersive art movement first with temporary installations and then a permanent Santa Fe, N.M., experience that drew 500,000 visitors last year.

Factory Obscura started in 2017 by creating installations in temporary spaces in Oklahoma City to gauge interest and whether visitors would pay for the experience. “Mix-Tape” is their first permanent installation and is inside The Womb, a building named by its former inhabitants: Grammy-winning rockers The Flaming Lips. Frontman Wayne Coyne is a friend of the collective.

The building’s history with music and the fact that each artist in the collective had been inspired by music led to “Mix-Tape.” Each artist brought one song that had meant something to them or helped shape who they are to initial brainstorming for the installation. After listening to and talking about the songs, the group developed the list of six feelings and started to plan the components of the space.

Factory Obscura artists designed, constructed, fabricated and installed all elements, including sculptures, dioramas, films and games. “Mix-Tape” is a visual, auditory and tactile experience; the art here is touchable and much of it is interactive. There are comfy places to sit or lay throughout, and you’ll find plenty of Instagrammable spots.

You enter the experience from the lobby through a giant ear. From there, you feel like you’re on a trippy voyage through someone’s mind, at times a crazy uncle’s funhouse of a warped mind.

Wandering through rooms, hallways, stairs, tunnels, caves and slides takes you into sections tied to one of those six emotions. There are birds, clouds and a disco ball in the joy space, while a room re-creating a teenager’s bedroom explores the transition from angst to love using music and a diary. Note that the bedroom is the one place in the experience to hear actual mixtape music. There’s a karaoke dresser: a jewelry box with buttons for six song choices, lyrics in the mirror and a hairbrush that is a mic.

There’s so much going on in each area, from obvious to subtle, that it’s impossible to notice all the nuggets the creators have embedded.

“We try not to give too much information up front and let discovery be part of the experience,” Karper said. “Discovery is part of the joy that people get in coming to an experience like ‘Mix-Tape.’ We don’t want to be overly instructive for how people should explore and experience it. We let people explore on their own, though of course our ‘Agents of Experience’ will answer questions people have.”

I won’t give away all the surprises – and honestly, I likely didn’t notice a quarter of all there was to find during my one visit – but I can give a little guidance.

▪ Get the light diffraction glasses. They cost an extra $1 in addition to admission ($12-$15 per person for a single visit) but enhance the experience, though there are times you’ll want to take them off, too.

▪ If something looks like it opens or has a button, open it or push it. Just be gentle, this is art after all. That rule starts with the oversized boombox that serves as the facade of the building. To get the full sound, light, video and motion effects, be sure to recall all the button combinations used with the old-school cassette players (hint: press play and record at the same time).

▪ Look closely so you don’t miss the details. The art elements here range from larger than life to miniature, and some of the digital tricks aren’t obvious. One of my favorite spots was a station under the slide where you can call another station. I thought it was within the “Mix-Tape” until the person on the other end said he was 500 miles away in Santa Fe at Meow Wolf. I later found out there is a game you can play as part of this collaboration but I didn’t notice it.

▪ Don’t be afraid to go in circles. Moving from space to space is intentionally disorienting. If you wind up in a room you’ve already been to, take time to see something new this time through.

▪ Go more than once. It takes more than one visit to take everything in, plus they plan to add to the experience at least once a year. They closed part of the space for a few days in January for a refresh.

Bringing Factory Obscura to Wichita

Recently, Harvester Arts and Wichita Festivals announced Factory Obscura as the Artist-in-Residence for the 49th annual Riverfest, May 29-June 6.

Karper said the collective plans to be in town this month for a site visit and to begin working with local artists. She said it’s too early to provide details but that festival-goers could expect an outdoor immersive experience that will have the same characteristics of their work in Oklahoma City: interactive, multi-disciplinary and collaborative.

“A component that has been important to everything we’ve done and we intend to do in Wichita also, is that we like to involve the community in the actual making of the artwork,” Karper said. “Our community work nights, when we invite people into our studios, has been incredibly popular with the community and a necessity for us. Whether you’re an artist or not, it’s a great way have a hand in making a much larger experience.”

She said the Factory Obscura artists are looking forward to constructing their first project outside of Oklahoma City.

“We’re also thrilled to be a part of something with such a legacy,” she said. “Past Riverfest artists in residence have done such incredible work and have made such fun things for the community. We’re honored to join the Wichita community.”

IF YOU GO

Who: Factory Obscura, an art collective

Where: The Womb, 25 NW Ninth, Oklahoma City

When: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

Cost: Single-entry tickets are $15 adults, $12 for ages 4-12, free for 3 and younger; annual passes start at $70

Info: www.factoryobscura.fun